By Maribel Velazquez
Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortegawife of an active duty sergeant, with almost three decades in the Army, today faces the possibility of being deported to a third country, despite having followed established legal processes.
Rivera Ortega was arrested on April 14 in El Paso, Texas, while attending a routine interview for the program “Parole in Set”designed to grant immigration protection to military family members, as reported by ABC News.
her husband, Jose Serrano, Sergeant First Class of the United States Army, has been deployed to Afghanistan three times throughout his 27 years of service. In statements to the same medium, he assured that both have complied with all legal requirements.
“She goes to work or church. That’s my wife’s life, Daisy.”said.
However, what should have been an administrative procedure ended in an unexpected arrest. Serrano reported that his wife was handcuffed inside the immigration facilities without any explanation. “At the end of the hallway, they detained my wife… They put handcuffs on her and took her away. And no one told me anything,” he said.
At the moment, Rivera Ortega is in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), at a processing center in El Paso. Although he has a work permit valid until 2030 and had previously obtained a suspension of deportation to El Salvador, now faces the risk of being sent to Mexico, a country with which it has no ties.
The family lawyer Matthew Kozik He questioned the legality of the process. “They didn’t allow anyone to ask questions, they took her away and we haven’t seen her since,” he denounced. Furthermore, he maintained that Your client does not have a final deportation orderwhich would open the door to challenging the decision in federal courts.
For its part, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that Rivera Ortega entered the country illegally and that there is an expulsion order in force.
“He remains in ICE custody awaiting deportation”said a spokesperson.
The case has also had an impact on Serrano, who revealed that he receives treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)), derived from his military service.
“I can’t sleep even with the medication… It is extremely painful and stressful not to be able to do anything,” he confessed.
This situation exposes that, while the government recognizes the sacrifice of its soldiers, their families can become trapped in an immigration system that does not always consider these realities.
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